Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-01-18

Professor AaierS Powerful Appeal Cor New
Ysvhp Overwortsd Chiidrcn--A story OF


Drudgery That Msae Is Hearers Weep.
With passionate earnestness Professor
Felix Adler told another heart melting story
of child drudgery In the factories Of New
York to the Society for Ethical Culture on
sunday. The picture be drew was 20 ia.
thetic and powerful that many Of the ladies'
in the great audience we're 10 tears when be
ended.
In answer TO those who questioned the
statement that children four years old was
compelled TO work Ia Amerlca, Professor
Adler read this sentence from General
Walkers book on the wages question
SO late ss 1870 children were employed In
the brick yards OF EnglSnd, under strange
task masters, at three snd half year, OF age
Account Is given us, sickening In its detslls
of . boy weighing httytwo pounds carrying
on his head a load of clay weighing forty.
three pounds seven miiess day and walking
another seven miles In the place where his
burden was to be assumed.
"Now, returning to our own state Of New
York, he said, " must deplore the absence
OF complete aud ofscial statistics on which
full relisnce might be placed. Through the
kindness OF lady physician, who 10 known
as a most indefatlgsole worker among the
poor, sm enabled to give you to day few
definite egures which are full Of the ssddest
interest
APPALLING rACTs.
ain the course Of her investi cation, which
| extended over the eighteen months prior to
| February !, 1855, she found among the
| people with whom she came In contact 5S5
children between ten aud twelve years old
who either worked In shops or stores, or IS
| sisted their mothers IN some Kind OF indus
trial occupation At home OF these ass chill
dren she says, Il found only sixty healthy
| Do not these figures tell their own CHASTITY
| story She tells Of one child who was
| brought TO the Mount Sinai pispensary clinic
in state of exhaustion from nOsebleed
| which was directly traceacle 10 overwork
| upon some sewing This child was only ten
years old, but she added twenty or thirty
| cents day to the family income, Acother
| case she speaks of is that OF q child who at
| three years was attacked with iufantile par
| slysis, partially durable disease. But the
mother neglected her little cne At i've
years the child began 10 sew buttons on
| trousers and now, ton years after the attack,
| she Is helpless cripple but finishes dozen
| pairs OF trousers day. These are only two
| cases out Of hundreds OF children attended.
| again, she tells OF a German family " here
woman and her aged father are engaged
| together in working on trousers. The
| woman does the main part OF the work ; the
old man of eighty years aud the little girl OF
seven years sew on the buttons. The weak.
ness OF declining life and the weakness OF
dawniDg life are yoked together In dreary
|
| 10y the relentless industrial spirit Of the
age.
There Is only one case that she remem
bers in which children under five years were
constantly employed. This was in 4 Ger
man family, IN which twin girls Of four and
| a halt years sewed on buttons from six in the
morning till ten at night Tue pay Of thest
| people i, as rule Piutuly small Fol
nnishiug pair Of trousers woman receives
fourteen cents, ten cents and as low As fvt
cents. By inCessant work a dozen pairs car
be finished in day. \ boys waist il mad,
entire, including button holes, tor fTuu
thirty-hye TO fifty cents dozen. Not NOR,
than dozen can one woman make in a day
This is a iair average OF the wages earned bl
sewing women working IN their bones.
"Tbe children help II they attend sChoo
during the fourteen weeks required by law
, they may be at work Ia the early morning
/ until eight O'Clock, aud again after schoo
hours from four until late Ia tle night EXsC
statistics are waiting but that single inte
fsugable worker among the poor SHOULD
fnd 53S children, between the ages OF tel
and twelve engaged In industrial occupa
uOns, not more than sixty OF whom Al
, | healthy, is surely sufficient 10 show ths
there Is here a masdy which requires to b
| cured,